Wednesday Recruitin': Overview Edition

Every so often it's nice to take a step back and look at the recruiting picture from more distance than "recruit X visits school Y. Here's a look at needs, commits, and remaining prospects at each position. Rodriguez has said he expects to sign a full class of 25. There are currently 19 commits and 22 spots available.

Conventional recruiting updates will return next week.

Quarterback

Needs: 2

Current Commits: 2

MI QB Devin Gardner and SC QB Conelius Jones are waiting in the wings to become Michigan's next signal-caller. Gardner has talked about preparing to enroll early, but still isn't certain if he plans to do so. Jones could potentially move to another position if the Wolverines find another QB that they like in the class of 2010 or to make the depth chart more appealing for prospect in future classes. LA QB Munchie LeGeaux is still considering Michigan if there's need for another QB, but Michigan is basically done here.

Tentative Grade: A. Gardner is the top QB recruit in the country to Rivals and Jones is a good developmental prospect.

Running Back

Needs: 1-2

Current Commits: 2

TX RB Stephen Hopkins is the team's big back in the class of 2010. MI RB Austin White is more of a versatile all-purpose back. There has been some talk that Hopkins may find his future on the defensive side of the ball, as a linebacker. He plays the position in high school, and the Wolverines definitely have more need there than they do at running back. FL RB Eduardo Clements is still considering Michigan, although it seems he's decided on a non-Michigan school.

Tentative Grade: B. White and Hopkins were early offers and thus guys the staff wanted from the start; they're both hovering around the 3/4-star borderline. You'd like to see Michigan reel in a blue-chip at some point but they look pretty set for the next few years.

Slot Receiver

Needs: 1

Current Commits: 2

LA Slot Drew Dileo will undoubtedly draw comparisons to Wes Welker over the course of his career as Designated White Slot Guy. TX RB Tony Drake is a combo RB/Slot. Michigan is already pretty full at this spot, since Martavious Odoms and Kelvin Grady are just sophomores, while Terrence Robinson and Jeremy Gallon are freshmen. With the increase in tight end usage, there is only room for one slot on the field most of the time. This might be a spot where the depth chart turns off and jumped ship.

Tentative Grade: C. Nether Drake nor Dileo had much in the way of offers when they committed and their recruiting rankings are towards the bottom of the class.

Wide Receiver

Needs: 2

Current Commits: 4

Michigan is stocked—possibly excessively so—at wideout, especially considering the emergence of young players already on the roster, like sophomores Darryl Stonum and JR Hemingway. A couple of the current commits are likely to change positions, such as MI WR Jeremy Jackson moving to tight end, MI WR Ricardo Miller moving to tight end, or OH WR Jerald Robinson moving to defensive back. Only OH WR DJ Williamson, a straight-line burner, seems locked in at WR.

Miller and Jackson both plan to enroll early, and Robinson may do the same. Further evidence that moves are potentially on the way: Michigan is still offering outside wideouts, as they just sent an offer to CA WR Kenny Stills ($, info in header).

Tentative Grade: B+. Miller's sudden and mostly unexplained ratings drop is bothersome, but he had a lot of impressive early offers so it probably doesn't mean a whole lot. He should be good. Robinson was great at summer camp and the other two guys have the potential to contribute.

Tight End

Needs: 0-1

Current Commits: 0

I noted above that Ricardo Miller or Jeremy Jackson may be destined for this position, but Michigan is also looking for a true tight end. The play of Kevin Koger and Martell Webb has shown Michigan's coaches the value of having a playmaker at the position. The only tight end that seems to be a realistic possibility is OH TE Alex Smith, and even that is a longshot.

Tentative Grade: Inc.

Offensive Tackle

Needs: 1-2

Current Commits: 0

Mark Ortmann will leave Michigan following this season, leaving very few proven tackles on the roster. Though Patrick Omameh, Taylor Lewan, and Michael Schofield have tons of potential, there is a need for more players at the position, particularly talented ones. MN OL Seantrel Henderson is the only top prospect that the Wolverines are strongly involved with, though OH OL Skyler Schofner is lesser-regarded, and still a possibility. Even if Michigan can't land one of those guys (and odds are that they won't), there is the opportunity for some sleeper prospects to be picked up later in the recruiting process.

Tentative Grade: Inc. Not looking good at this point with few options other than Henderson, who is a tossup.

Interior Offensive Line

Needs: 2

Current Commits: 1

OH OL Christian Pace is destined to be a center in the future, as he's a little short to be a true guard. Michigan would also like another guard in the class, though pickings are getting slim for top guys. FL OL Torrian Wilson was favoring Michigan for a long time... until he committed to Stanford. He's still a little bit open, though it looks like his Cardinal commitment may stick. Michigan will likely be looking for sleepers at this position as well.

Tentative Grade: Inc. Again, few options on the board now that Wilson has committed to Stanford.

Defensive Tackle

Needs: 2

Current Commits: 1

OH DT Terry Talbott is underrated by the recruiting services, and should be a very useful player for Michigan within a couple years. The Wolverines still need another player at the position, though, and unlike offensive line, there are a number of options. PA DT Shariff Floyd is one of the top players in the nation, and he's gone back and forth over whether Michigan will get a visit. MN DT Beau Allen recently received an offer from Michigan, and has interest. MI DT Johnathon Hankins is favoring other schools right now, but a Michigan offer could vault them right back into the race.

Tentative Grade: C. Talbott's a good pickup but Michigan is nowhere near picking up any blue-chip guys and needs some more depth.

Defensive End

Needs: 3

Current Commits: 2

Michigan has bodies at the defensive end positions, but they're lacking true playmakers waiting to take over for Brandon Graham once he leaves. PA DEs Jordan Paskorz and Kenny Wilkins are more likely to be solid contributors than game-changers, so Michigan would like at least one more DE in the class. There have been rumblings that Paskorz could bulk up and move to defensive tackle, and that Wilkins will probably end up at Quick DE. Michigan doesn't have a lot of options here, as prospects are droppingto Penn State, and now FL DE Lynden Trail has committed to Florida. Michigan will either look for a sleeper with a lot of potential, or hopefully jump back into the recruitment of a top guy if they continue having a good season.

Tentative Grade: C+. Wilkins is a great athlete who can grow into the strongside DE spot; Paskorz isn't rated that high. Michigan's gotten beaten out by PSU for approximately 8 DE prospects.

Linebacker

Needs: 3

Current Commits: 1

OH LB Antonio Kinard is Michigan's sole commit at this position, and he's not really a top guy. He's got potential, but the Wolverines need a lot more than that, considering the weakened state of the linebacker corps. Fortunately, there are lots of options, though CT LB Khairi Fortt is now off the table, as he committed to Penn State. VA LB Aramide Olaniyan has visited Michigan already this fall, where he enjoyed himself. He plans another trip to Ann Arbor this winter. MD LB Josh Furman is also a strong possibility here, and he plans to decide fairly soon. MD LB Troy Gloster was a possibility, but he recently committed to West Virginia. A good backup plan here is OH LB Jewone Snow, a Michigan legacy.

Tentative Grade: Inc. Will be good if they pick up Olaniyan and Furman.

Safety

Needs: 2

Current Commits: 1

FL S Marvin Robinson was considered a top junior, and although he isn't as highly-ranked as a senior, he's still a good grab for the Wolverines. He intends to enroll early, but Michigan still needs at least 1 more player at this position. OH S Latwan Anderson seems to be looking elsewhere now (and deciding soon), but CA S Dietrich Riley is still looking at Michigan, as is CA S Sean Parker. Both are top prospects, and plan to visit Ann Arbor this fall. There are a couple prospect a little lower on the board, including AZ S Marquis Flowers.

Tentative Grade: Inc. If they keep Robinson and add another decent prospect it'll be a B.

Cornerback

Needs: 3

Current Commits: 2

OH CBs Terrence Talbott and Courtney Avery are good gets, but Michigan needs one elite corner in this class (Don't believe me? Watch the team play this year). Fortunately, PA CB Cullen Christian has been heavily favoring Michigan since the beginning of time, and plans to announce a decision a couple days after he visits for the Ohio State game. There are also a couple more options back here, which would allow Christian to play safety if he goes blue. They are FL CBs Travis Williams, Rashad Knight, and Tony Grimes, as well as top CA CB Joshua Shaw. Grimes is also thought to be favoring Michigan; Knight has been quiet for a while but the last time someone pinged him he also said Michigan was his leader pending a potential Florida State offer which looks like it won't come.

Tentative Grade: A-, assuming they latch on to Christian and one other guy on the list, possibly two with the intent of moving someone to safety.

Punter

Needs: 1

Current Commits: 1

WI P Will Hagerup is the man at punter after Zoltan leaves Ann Arbor on his spaceship. Hagerup is among the top punters in the nation, and was Michigan's #1 choice from the start.

We have, I think, have 3 redshirt freshmen OL and 4 true freshman OL right now. Molk and Huyge are RS Sophomores, and they're starters.

It will be a bit tough for OL recruiting this season - If I was an OL recruit considering Michigan, I'd look at the 7-8 freshmen in front of me and the 2 sophomores already starting, and think that I'd have a great deal of competition for playing time.

I think it'll be easier to get OL recruits next season, without the huge class directly ahead of them.

The defensive recruiting so far just plain sucks in terms of really meeting needs with top-level guys. RR is going to have to be an Alec Baldwin-style closer this year. A season that doesn't go south on the field would help.

We've still got four months to go to Signing Day. If Michigan wanted to "settle" it would already have a full class. Given that 5-6 more top level defensive recruits are signing here, I don't see why you're jumping to conclusions.

Plus, I am really excited that Paskorz, M. Robinson, C. Avery and the Talbotts are on board, and we're going to see some good ones sign.

Michigan will absolutely reel from signing the nation's top spread QB, three or four top quality WRs, the nation's top punter, ultimately 2 or 3 decent to really good LB prospects, 3 or 4 really good CBs and a couple good safety prospects.

Yeah, that will be terrible given that 89 of the 125 players currently on the roster are freshmen and sophomores.

Last night there was a blow up on rivals when Jim Stefani of Michigan Prep came out with some info that Michigan had dropped the ball with a lot of recruits and lost contact, even with guys like Cullen Cristian (no contact for over a month). The jist of the blow up was that Michigan is being outworked. This was backed up by another solid inside poster.

about Dior Mathis that he thought Michigan wasn't interested because they had stopped calling him while other schools did. It turns out, it was during the no-contact period and one school was actually following the rules while others schools...ahem....weren't.

For the Recruit-niks out there, does it seem like there will be much changing of minds based on this season? Conventional wisdom says that since recruiting is done earlier, a lot of kids build the relationship in their junior year (which was 3-9), so we should expect a weaker than usual class.

However, are there any "swing" players that were recruited last year, decided to look elsewhere because of the 2008 season, but could be re-interested given some semblance of success?

That's 7 offensive linemen in two years after paltry OL recruiting in previous years. We're also losing Ortmann, Moosman, and perhaps McAvoy after this year (I think Ferrara, Dorrestein, and Schilling will stay for fifth years).

IIRC there were a couple preferred walk-ons for the O-Line as well, and offensive lineman are the hardest to project from high school. Not saying that walk ons solve the problem, but having casual knowledge of our recruiting and depth, it doesn't seem as pressing.

(although I'm trying to stay positive on this topic), thanks for the encouragement.

Can I mention here that I've been checking your e-blog this week for your weekly roundup and have been saddened that you didn't recap the Sparty affair? I normally appreciate hearing who you would like to see more of and less of.

Unfortunately, because the game was on the BTN and I have Comcast, I had to watch the game at a sports bar where there was too much going on and I couldn't pay close attention. I don't really like doing drive-by analysis.

Also, this week has been extremely busy. School, football, parent-teacher conferences, people visiting from out of town, recertification tests... I haven't really had time to sit down and gather my thoughts/write.

with the apparent lack of focus on defensive recruiting? Mathews is the only WR leaving after this year and yet we've picked up 6 more receivers in this class? I understand that RR and his staff pride themselves on turning 2 and 3 star defensive talent into competent college defenders but if the reason we brought him in was to become a national championship contender (everyones major complaint with Lloyd) the defense needs to get significantly better and if this class (and RR's history at West Virginia) is any indication they don't seem to consider that a priority.

No matter how good your offense is there are days when it will slow down for one reason or another and a team needs their defense to pull out the win. I have little confidence that we will have a defense like that under the RR regime. Can anyone name a national champion from the last 10 years that did not have a single pro prospect on their defense? -- and that's us after Graham and Warren leave. Thoughts??

I acknowledge the difficulties involved in recruiting after a season like we had last year and am not accusing RR of not trying. What I am saying, however, is that based on his years at WVU (with PacMan Jones being the only defensive player to get drafted in the first round) and looking at this year's almost full class (Robinson only defensive 4 star/rivals 250) I cant help but feel somewhat nervous about the defensive future under RR.

WVU actually had some pretty good defenses under Rodriguez. IIRC, around the time RR was hired Brian posted a blurb about how WV defenses fared under Rodriguez and they were all ranked in the teens nationally.

The number of first round draft picks is not a good metric by which to measure Rodriguez's defensive recruiting prowess. Even LaMarr Woodley and Alan Branch weren't taken in the first round. A school of West Virginia's size and stature is never going to be an NFL linebacker factory.

I disagree with the A- ranking for CB's. C. Avery is labeled a huge "sleeper" and a "steal" but unproven thus far and not highly ranked. T. Talbott was a package deal with his brother, had few offers himself, and again not highly ranked. Given that we have C. Christian and Grimes IN THE FOLD, and not committed, I'd give the CB grade a B- or a C+ as of the recruits we have actually committed.

And to all you haters out there, we signed some big BIG names on signing day last year. D. Robinson and Q. Washington have a big future here. Some of the bigger recruits on our board haven't even visited campus yet, which can be a real game-changer (It was for Q. Washington last year, when the student section chanted "Q wear the blue!"). Be patient, judge after signing day.

I have to believe there will be a lot of position switches. With 9 needs and currently only 3 open spots (or 6 as Rodriguez has anticipated) I think Robinson will move to linebacker and then we will be moving wide recievers or slots to cb and safety. The situation with defensive coordinator has caused issues with recruiting but that will improve over the next few years with stability

First of all, I don't think any position should get an INC. The point of this post is the status of our recruiting class as it stands right now. We know it is going to change. Therefore I think positions lacking either talent or depth should get a lower grade, not an INC.

The defensive recruiting is scary considering how the depth and talent on the field have performed to date. I suppose an optimist would argue that the good season (to date) and the lack of committments means that they might be able to get in on some higher rated guys late now that they are more attracted to a competitive Michigan team rather than a 3-9 team. But there aren't a lot of options remaining.

I share Brian's feeling that you need to sign 3-OL every year, so I'm concerned with this class. Granted, none of the recruits from the last two have played yet so there is depth on the roster, but we need a couple more.